Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat, has become object of derision for assorted Left leaning activists even before the embers of the Sabarmati Express had gone cold. It was not unexpected. The Left’s virulent campaign against Modi was meant to satiate the collective conscience of Nehruvian apologists who had felt slighted at being kicked out of power in New Delhi. For the first time, a BJP-led NDA had ousted the Congress.

The Gujarat riots were the perfect alibi to conclusively establish the ‘communal’ credentials of the BJP, that had until now been only in the realm of the Congress party’s imagination. The 2002 riots were called the worst in independent India, in which thousands of Muslims were killed and no justice was possible as long as the cases remained in Gujarat.

Truth has strange ways of emerging when you try to suppress it. None of the above assertions by well-meaning activists, who were coincidentally close to Congress, are true. Let us evaluate each of these assertions in detail. The following paragraphs will state well-established facts about 2002. However, facts in isolation convey little and they must be contextualised with data from similar environments. To this end, we will also look at some of the devastating riots India saw prior to Gujarat 2002, under the ‘secular’ Congress.

Counting the dead is painful but truth must be told.

Riots, under any regime and irrespective of the extent of death and destruction they cause, are a national shame. No civilized society can have place for such violent disagreements. Nevertheless, violence – and riots – are as old as ‘civilised society.’ The only thing we can do in understanding them and mitigating their impact is to study them impartially and not be selective in our condemnation.

Assertion 1: Gujarat riots were worst in Independent India.

Facts: 1969 – Gujarat: Total dead 660 of which 430 were Muslims; 1983 – Nellie, Assam: All 2,191 dead were Muslims; 1989 – Bhagalpur: Of the 1,070 who died, 876 were Muslims; 1992 – Mumbai: 575 of those dead out of 900 were Muslims. Obviously, no one can forget the ghastly pogrom of 1984 (this distinction is important). 4,000+ Sikhs were butchered in cold blood by marauding Congress thugs.

Compare this to the Godhra riots of 2002, wherein of the 1,169 killed, 781 were Muslims and the rest Hindus. Police action led to killing of Hindus too, unlike in the riots listed above which saw no police intervention. Far worse, Indira Gandhi justified Nellie (see para 8) and Rajiv Gandhi’s now infamous “when a big tree falls, the earth shakes” comment is the most heinous comment to justify killing of innocents.

Any literate person can see that neither was the Gujarat riot the first in independent India nor was it the worst. It is important to note that no one orchestrated it, neither has anyone justified it.

Assertion 2: Thousands of Muslims were killed

Facts: Thousands? Total number of deaths in Gujarat riots was 1,169 of which Muslims killed were 781 and not thousands as those who have little regard for facts would like us to believe. Yet it is important not to look at just numbers but also to understand the effort the state government of Gujarat made in those crucial hours after the riots broke out.

Modi had been Chief Minister for less than six months and had been elected to the Assembly less than a fortnight before the riots broke out. In this short period, he was rated highly, particularly by the minorities. In the given situation, the CM did the best he could. Lets go through some of the reports in media during that period.

I quote Sheela Bhatt who wrote for Rediff on the morning of 28th February, 2002.

A state home ministry official speaking to rediff.com said that the situation in Ahmedabad and Baroda is tense, but under control.

He said, “There are reports of angry people gathering in the streets of Baroda and Ahmedabad. But we have enough policemen deployed to prevent any untoward incident.”

He said that fears of a communal clash between the Hindus and Muslims have forced the administration to impose curfew in seven areas of Baroda.

Two cases of stabbing were reported in Baroda and Ahmedabad on Wednesday night, the official added.

At 6pm IST on 28th February, 2002, the Army was on stand-by and I quote from the Indian Express

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Thursday called a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security, which decided that Army will stand by in the disturbed areas of Gujarat.

Earlier in the evening, addressing a crowded press conference, Chief Minister Narendra Modi put the death count at 20, said curfew was imposed on 26 areas and over 700 were arrested in the state, including 80 in Godhra, the place of Sabarmati Express carnage. The Army has been asked to stand by, and the Rapid Action Force and Central Industrial Security Force have also been deployed in sensitive areas, he added. “If possible, the Army may be air-lifted from the border,” Modi added.

AHMEDABAD, MARCH 1. The Army began flag marches in the worst-affected areas of Ahmedabad, Baroda, Rajkot and Godhra cities and the `shoot at sight’ order was extended to all 34 curfew-bound cities and towns in Gujarat as the orgy of violence in the aftermath of the Godhra train carnage continued unabated for the second day today.

But unlike Thursday when one community was entirely at the receiving end, the minority backlash caused further worsening of the situation.

Just so that we don’t lose track of dates – On 27th February, 2002, the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express carrying karsevaks was set on fire. 58 people were burnt alive and 43 injured. Riots broke out on 28th February, 2002. A massive paramilitary force was deployed on the same day and the Army began flag marches on 1st March, 2002 – all this in a matter of 48 hours! For those who can’t read the Gregorian calendar properly, it would help to note that Feb in 2002 had only 28 days.

One must admit that all sources cited so far have appeared in publications that are no friends of Modi. Therefore, one can satisfactorily conclude that these are genuine and clearly show that Modi’s administration did all it could to ensure that the violence was contained at the earliest.

If only it were so simple! It is not easy to please the anti-Modi cottage industry, not because they do not see the facts but because they do not want to. To drive home the point, however, let us compare how other elected governments reacted when riots broke out under their administration.

1969 Gujarat:TheReddy Commission concludes that despite available manpower, sufficient force was not used by the Police in the initial stages [24.41]. Discussing a particular incident it observes how the minority community had to fend for itself with not a single instance of police firing or arrest [13.8]

Curfew imposed on 2nd day in walled area only – extended to entire commissionerate on 3rd day. Reddy Commission concludes there was a delay in imposition of curfew [22.101] and this delay had no justification [11.26]. It adds the curfew was not respectedas the Police was not taking strict action [11.31]

The Army deployed only on the 3rd day of the riots. The Reddy Commission concludes that deployment was delayed, also that the government should not have depended only on the IGP’s advice of not calling the army earlier [p. 189]

1984 anti-Sikh pogrom:TheNanavati Commission concludes that there was a colossal failure of maintenance of law & order, and holds the head of the police force responsible [p. 178]. It adds that if the police had been prompt and effective, it is very likely that the loss of life and property would have been lesser [p. 182].

The Mishra Commission also found that the police was either indifferent or negligent, and at times also connived and participated in them [p. 2]. Mittal Report indicted 72 police officials recommending departmental action. The Jain Aggarwal Committee indicted 90 officials. [Nanavati: p. 6-7]

The Nanavati Commission observed that despite curfew being imposed, mobs indulging in violence were moving freely and committing acts of looting and killing [p. 178]

Though 5,000 army men were available on the very day the riots began, the Army was deployed only on the 3rd day, and only on the 4th day did it become effective in some areas. The Mishra Commission concludes there was a delay in calling Army [p. 183], and blames it on the Delhi Administration [p. 2]

1989 Bhagalpur:TheSinha-Hasan Commission categorically concludes that the then SP, Bhagalpur (Dwivedi) was wholly responsible for the riots [597]. It also observed that other officers belonging to the police and civil administration, barring a few, not only failed to prevent violent incidents, but in places even facilitated in and joined them [599] – listing out specific names of the directly responsible [597-598]. The Commission ends by recommending to the Government to take drastic steps against those indicated by it [599].

The Sinha-Hasan Commission observed that the police force aligned itself with a group of people in violation of the curfew – which was not something that can be justified or lightly ignored [114]. It also observed that if the Army had been deployed on the 2nd day of rioting matters could have been immediately brought under control [589].

1992 Bombay:The Srikrishna Commission reported that the police mishandled the situation, and with their aggressive posture, actually turned the initial peaceful protests into violent demonstrations [Ch.2, 1.3. A. ii.]. It further noted that there was evidence of police bias against Muslims – with police personnel found even actively participating in riots, communal incidents or incidents of looting, arson, and so on. The Commission thus strongly recommended that the government take strict action against the 31 accused it identified [Chpt 5, 1.30]

Curfew had been imposed on paper on the 2nd & 3rd days respectively of the 1st & 2nd phases of rioting. The Srikrishna Commission found that enforcement, however, was not taken seriously, turning the curfew into a farce [Ch.4, 1.3] – it thus did not deter mobs [Ch.2, 1.3. B. v.]

On the 2nd & 3rd days respectively of the 1st & 2nd phases of rioting, the Army was used for flag march only. The Army was deployed for operational duties for the 1st time only on the 5th day of the 2nd phase of rioting. The Srikrishna Commission observed that the army could have been given operational role to swiftly & decisively put an end to the violence [Ch.4, 1.9]. There instead was confusion & the civil administration was unable to use the army effectively [Ch.5, 1.26. i], with the CM himself taking 4 days to issue it with operational duties [Ch.2, 1.28]

1983 Nellie, Assam: The Congress state government set up only an administrative and NOT judicial inquiry to probe the riots; the report has not been made public till date.

In contrast, the Gujarat Government took proactive steps to control the riots. The police fired as many as 10,500 rounds, and 15,000 tear gas shells were used; 207 Hindus and 215 Muslims were injured in police firing along with 522 police officers. Not just that, the police made preventive arrests of 17,947 Hindus and 3,616 Muslims. 9,954 Hindus and 4,035 Muslims were also taken into substantive custody.

It is obvious from the notes of various commissions on the riots that the Gujarat Government under Modi left no stone unturned to contain the riots. In fact, the administration, against all odds, did their best to protect the minority community from the rioters.

Assertion 3: No justice is possible as long as the cases remain in Gujarat.

Facts: Again, this is not true. In November 2003, the Ghodasar case had 15 convictions and on 11th December, 2005 in Anjanwa case, 11 life terms were handed. Similarly in 2007, the Godhra court convicted 11. Who says there is no hope for justice in Gujarat for the 2002 riot affected? Only those who claim to be fighting for justice for them!

In March 2008, the Supreme Court (SC) appointed the Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by former Central Bureau of Investigation Director R.K. Raghavan, to reinvestigate nine major cases in the Gujarat riots of 2002.

Significantly, in March 2003, the SC had stalled the trial of nine Gujarat riot cases, thanks to the relentless campaign by the human rights activists seeking justice for the Muslim victims. The riot victims said they won’t get justice as long as the Gujarat Government had a role in the police probe and the subsequent trial. The SIT is reinvestigating the cases under the virtual supervision of the apex court, with even the judges and public prosecutors being selected under the SC’s monitoring.

Interestingly, he notes:

As the SIT goes about its task, more and more evidence is surfacing that the human rights lobby had, in many cases, spun macabre stories of rape and brutal killings by tutoring witnesses before the SC. In the process, it might have played a significant role in misleading the SC to suit its political objectives against Modi and his government.

It is no secret who these human rights activists and do gooders are (more can be known about them here 1, 2, 3). They have now become a permanent fixture in the political firmament of the ruling coalition in Delhi. They have been rewarded with important assignments and made to sit at the high table. That no one has seen a conflict of interest in the hobnobbing of these activists with the party in power is in itself interesting. It also makes one wonder about their non-partisanship and concern for the riots victims!

To turn attention to the speed of the delivery of justice in Gujarat and put them in context: the first convictions in the 1993 Mumbai blasts came after nearly 14 years; the first convictions in the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom came a full 13 years later. The Bhagalpur riots which saw about 1070 deaths in 1989, mostly Muslim, had the first convictions only in 2007, after a full 18 years. No such luck for the victims in Nellie yet.

This should be a resounding response to those who doubted the quality and speed of justice in Gujarat. Those who delayed justice to riot victims by asking the Supreme Court to intervene and monitor the investigations must now gracefully accept the SIT’s clean chit to Modi.

It is perhaps for the first time in India that a democratically elected Chief Minister has upheld the law of the land, cooperating with law enforcement by deposing before every commission and inquiry. Modi’s deposition is in the public domain for everyone to see. He did not use unfair means or use media to exert any sort of pressure or influence. This is markedly different from the Congress leaders deposing before various commissions and inquires related to 1984 pogrom. Others, like Indira and Rajiv Gandhi deemed it unnecessary that the law of the land apply to them.

There is a concerted attempt by a group of Congress-sponsored activists, media and NGOs to discredit the SIT but lets not forget that Raghavan is no friend of Modi either. His investigative efforts have led to the arrest of a woman minister in the Gujarat state government. After a thorough and professional investigation lasting about two years, the SIT found no evidence to support Zakia Jaffri’s complaint of a conspiracy to organize riots. Many amicus curiae briefs have agreed with the SIT.

Conflating justice for victims with establishing Modi’s culpability by any means is unlikely to yield any dividends. His critics and political opponents must understand that.

Epilogue

It is unfortunate that Mr Modi has been singularly marked out for disproportionate condemnation and vilification. Of course, riots are unfortunate but if one loses objectivity and pursues an individual in the name of justice instead of seeking accountability from the system, one are unlikely to achieve either.

No one, including Modi, denies that burning of the karsevaks in the Sabarmati Express and the unfortunate riots that followed were regretful but to singularly target the chief minister for political ends is simply untenable in a democracy like ours. People in India assess political leaders for what they are and the kind of engagement and accountability they bring to the political process.

By relentlessly targeting Modi, the Left-leaning human rights activists have only sought to widen the existing religious fault lines in society in the hope that it will benefit their political benefactors. The signs, however, are quite to the contrary. The courts have acquitted – well almost – Modi; the people of Gujarat have opined in his favour; and soon, the people of India may too.

It is time to tell these scavengers that enough is enough. Let truth prevail.

I think the author, and others like him, do themselves and the Center-Right fraternity great disservice by persistently claiming that it is only a leftist / NGO/ Congress cabal that is concerned about Modi’s role during the Gujarat riots.

While he/ they may (or may not) be ultimately proven right on the facts regarding Modi’s culpability in the riots, this kind of defensiveness that refuses to acknowledge genuine concerns on the ground among regular, unaffiliated folks dents his/ their own credibility in being taken as serious commentator(s) on the issue.

All of us have our own biases, which is by itself not a problem. But to claim that almost the entire Indian national media, observers from the Supreme Court of India and the National Commission of Human Rights, major international newspapers with their own reporters on the ground, Human Rights Watch & its observers, not to mention Condoleezza Rice and the Bush administration – all of whom independently adversely commented on Modi’s actions or lack thereof during the riots in the days, weeks and months immediately following the riots – were all gullible individuals and institutions easily taken in by a Teesta Setalvad and her merry leftist / Congress agents, or otherwise part of some vast coordinated left-wing conspiracy, is to insult your unaffiliated audience’s intelligence.

While it is true that we have not heard the final word on Modi’s personal involvement (and there have been some encouraging signs for him till now), it is also true that one of his cabinet ministers (actually received a promotion, post-facto) has been jailed for life for actively leading murderous mobs during the riots. So it can be argued that the concern about the Gujarat govt’s rule in the riots is still not resolved. But, as I said, you may entirely be correct about Modi’s personal role in the riots. I, as an independent observer, want to know the actual truth of what happened during on those few days. If Modi actually had no role to play in the riots and is being entirely framed, I sure would like to know that too.

(To some of you who may want to jump at what I said above – please understand what I am saying here, before commenting on my perceived religious affiliation, upbringing, etc. I am making a very specific point that may have escaped you. Thanks v. much).

Skanda

Human rights, international media, US etc were not gullible – they are the cause of calumny. BBC for instance openly lies when it comes to India and calls 2002 riots a pogrom. Talking of Gujarat govt’s role in riots and not of the overall riot-prone situation in the country only indicates open dishonesty.

saurav

Same way, Blair, Campbell and BBC( Read Campbell diaries, how bush was also complicit) found abt WMD in IRAQ? that was for oil, This is for Helicopters(italian)? Oh sorry bro, do you even know who is campbell?

http://twitter.com/PKalli3 Praveen

Agree
Joseph that there is a section of the general public who is unaffiliated to the congress and may feel that Modi had
something to do with the riots and that they are not sure. But I am sure that
that this segment also feels that he has been victimised disproportionately for
it ( compared to the experiences in the past) The mainstream media in the veil
of unbiased coverage makes it a point every other day to make sure Modi doesnt
progress coz of 2002. The very fact that we are discussing about whether he can
be a PM candidate or whether the riots will be a huge impediment for him even
10 years after their occurrence despite the SIT etc suggests that there has
been a machinery in place to keep them alive and to keep the public feeling of
Modi’s culpability alive. No such machinery was in existence to remind India
every year of the 1984 riots and Rajeev Gandhi was able to become the PM straightaway. He never had the pariah status. And if most of the country and the Indian media forgot about punishment for the criminals of the 1984 riots, the same Human Rights groups and other watchdogs which you mention did forget about them as well,
didn’t they ?

Praveen

bapty seshasayee

Mr. AMIT. MALVIYA. AND. CRI. MANY THANKS. FOR THIS. PRECISE. NO NONSENSE. ARTICLE, INPUT. AND CORRECT FACTUAL NEWS. ON GUJARAT. RIOTS. ,AFTER BURNING OF 58. KARSEVAKS. ON 27 TH FEB 2002 . ALSO. SOME OF THE RIOTS. IN. INDIA. AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES. ,AND STEPS TAKEN BY THE. THEN GOVTS. IN OFFICE ,INCLUDING GOVT OF. INDIA IN DELHI. ,SIKH RIOTS. 1984.
STRANGELY WHY. MEERUT, MORADABAD. SHOOTING OF. MUSLIMS MAY BE 40 OF THEM ,ORDERED. BY HOME. MINISTRY AND BODIES. DUMPED IN CANAL HAS NOT BEEN REPORTED ,ALL DID NOT DIE ,SOME INJURED CAME BACK TO TELL THE STORY AND PERHAPS. CASE IS STILL PENDING IN COURT .MAY BE 25 YRS. BEFORE ,WHY THIS IS NOT MENTIONED.
CRI. THANKS TO GOOD MEDIA. LIKE YOU. INDIANS. GET TO KNOW THE REAL TRUTH. IN THE HISTORY OF INDIA AND PERHAPS NO NATION HAS THERE BEEN SUCH A DEBASING ,VILLIFICATION CAMPAIGN ,BY RULING PART ,MEDIA, ALL TV CHANNELS. SCORES AND SCORES OF so called ACTIVISTS ,NGOs ,AND SURPRISINGLY. INDIAS JUDICIARY UNDER. CONGRESS INSTRUCTIONS ,HAVE. BREACHED. ALL. RULES GUIDELINES AND. THE LAW. IN TARGETEDLY. ATTACKING GUJARAT. STATE , IT’S C.M. SHRI MODIJI. AND. THE ENTIRE. STATE MACHINERY.
STATE OF. GUJARAT IF I MAY SAY SO HAS BEEN TREATED. AS AN ACHUT, ,AN ENEMY STATE, AND MANY OFFICERS. AND A MINISTER. HAS BEEN JAILED. SOME. OFFICERS. ARE IN

http://twitter.com/amitalokrm अमित वासुदेवः सर्वम्

if you have links for your article and proof it dont just blabber here get away you paid people

Atanu_Dey

Sorry to butt in but you apparently did not notice that your CAPS lock is on.

(Or perhaps you are shouting because you are deaf.)

http://twitter.com/Tailor_Durden Vikram Rao

Does not make you dumb if you not comment over some of these non-issues. Or you can ignore if it bothers so much. Why try to score brownie points everywhere?

The right build its case and considers that godhra train burning was a planned murderous assualt on pilgrims who had gone tp ayodhya .Lets take some facts from the pro modi nanavathi commission report

home.gujarat.gov.in/homedepartment/downloads/godharaincident.pdf

189.
The evidence establishes that Sabarmati Express train when it left
Ayodhya, was running late and was heavily over-crowded because of the first
batch of about 2000 Ramsevaks returning by that train from Ayodhya to Gujarat.
Coach S/6 of the train was also over-crowded. There were more than 200
passengers therein. Most of them were Ramsevaks who had unauthorisedly
occupied seats therein. Though the Ramsevaks/Karsevaks travelling by that train
had raised slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’ etc. when travelling from Ayodhya to
Godhra, the journey between those Stations was peaceful. There is no evidence
indicative of any event or incident having taken place at any of the previous
stations between those Ramsevaks and any Muslim, which could have prompted
the Ghanchi Muslims of Signal Falia,

THERE WHERE MORE THAN 20O IN THE BURNT COACH and people who where able to jump out trampled upon those who could not during an attack and the weak 59 got killed

47.
The passengers examined by the Commission have also referred to the
over crowding in the train. Radheshyam Mishra, (W-1013), a retired army
havaldar had boarded the train at Faizabad with his family. He had reservation in
coach No.S/7. He was not allowed to enter that coach. After he had made requests
to the passengers inside coach no. 6 in Gujarati language and told them that he
was a lame person, he was allowed to get into that coach. He has stated that the
coach was so over crowded that it was impossible to find any place to sit. With
difficulty he was able to find for himself and members of his family some space
on the floor of that coach near seat No.7. Many passengers were sitting near the
latrines and in the passage and, therefore, it was difficult for the passengers to
move inside the coach or to go to the latrines.

shiva_eswaran

Munuswamy,

The Right does not build case on Godhra train burning, it always tells that how one community is not completely ignorant. When more than 200 people are in the train and 59 were killed don’t you think there are chances that people would’ve escaped with injuries?

Nanavati reports- Pro-Modi?? really in what way? just because it tells that Modi was not the one who burnt the train?? The report was to inquire about the train burning and it states there were reasons to believe it was pre planned . The people who I’ve talked with so far doesn’t even know that the commission has reported that the train burning was pre planned. planned or not planned it doesn’t matter when people were burnt in front of the eyes.

Nanavati states that some Subedar was let off after he got the blow.. Remember the people inside the train were burnt and not the ones on the platform, so there are people who survived.

To clear it again, this article mainly points out why Modi is singled out and not others. You can see the links and understand.

http://twitter.com/ganpat73 munusamy ganapathy

dear sir kindly read the full report. he jumped from the train on the side from where stone peltors where throwing stones.kindly read the testimony of people on how it was impossible for them to even move in the coach .
Why should a preplanned group let more than 140 people travelling in the same coach escape from the fire .We all have travelled in trains and the sleeper coaches at full capacity of 72 seats make movement difficult and we have a situation of more than 200 in a coach and 140 odd escaped from the fire leaving behind the vulnerable children,women and old.
Till i read the report ,I was under the impression that all 59 travelling in S6 coach where roasted alive as their coach was locked from outside but the escape of 140 out of 200 more in a 72 seater coach should force any saner person to dhoubt the propoganda of planned massacre of devotees

There exists a girl who gives testimony of being pulled up the group but is dismissed by the commission as unreliable

shiva_eswaran

Munuswamy There were people who escaped as well. Believe me people who support Modi in forums not always refer Godhra train burning as planned one.our point is that train burning led to the riots. There was another commission which was set up by Lalu said it was an accident as you can see from Nanavati commission report that after all the stone pelting do you want us to believe that the Godra train burning was fire accident.

http://twitter.com/ganpat73 munusamy ganapathy

I am just seeing the issue with a open mind and since this article is THE TRUTH MUST BE TOLD ,I am just adding the fact that THERE WHERE MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE IN THE S6 COACH AND 59 DIED WHILE THE REMAINING ESCAPED a fact which is not known to 99% of the population

Jaykumar Jaganathan

Looks like you guys wanted all 200 to be burnt inside that compartment..Is that what you are suggesting?

Looks like you have traveled in AC Coach and not Sleeper coach..Full capacity with only 72 passenger doesn’t create any congestion…..Nor make movement difficult….Side window seats are mostly reserved for RAC, so most of the time capacity of a coach is always compromised by railway authorities itself…

Better Luck next time travel and write….

Jaykumar Jaganathan

Let’s assume that all 200 where burnt as expected by NGO’s and Dalit Messiah’s and Secular brigades or got killed just imagine what would have been the condition of M’s….?

http://twitter.com/ganpat73 munusamy ganapathy

THE Laloo idea of 3 seats in the side berth created lot of troubles(I have faced it myself)and was discarded and we have more than thrice the capacity in S6 coach.
why was it selected if it was preplanned.The other coaches too had ramsevaks in 100s in addition to the reserved passengers
The accident in tamilnadu express killing 32 last year in fire accident can give an idea about how easy its to catch fire and the difficulty in escaping even when there is no resistance but here all except the vulnerable escaped

Same 99%people doesn’t even know that it is a pre planned carnage. It is always the vulnerable who cannot escape. People who can run will escape. Here is a quote from the nellore accident
Earlier, Nellore district collector B Sridhar said, “There was a short circuit near the toilet and the train was moving at a speed of 110 kms per hour. It was going to Chennai from Delhi. All the passengers were asleep when the fire broke out. People were not able to come out immediately”.

In running train during late night 32 people got killed.where as in Godhra the train was set to fire in the station in the morning where 59 people killed this is not accident. If you are going to think this is an accident and compare it with other accidents then you are welcome to believe that all the stones outside the bogie where also thrown by karsevaks from the train.

http://twitter.com/ganpat73 munusamy ganapathy

The train which caught fire accidentally was not running continuosly with a burning coach.It was noticed within minutes and every attempt was made by others to save those in the coach which was not even full and more than half the passengers where burnt but in a ?preplanned attack on a coach with a capacity of 200+ , majority escaped when there where no one to help and hundreds of angry planners and non planners where doing all their might to prevent their escape.does it add up.

shiva_eswaran

As mentioned in the above comment “Even in the pre planned massacres people do manage to escape. This is not an isolated incident. Naroda incident which has been termed as conspiracy by the court had 90+ people dead and over 900 managed to escape.” it is good to know that people will escape.. All you are talking about is speculation about the nature of the attack. People’s instinct will be to escape so no matter how planned the attack is people will escape. considering the crowd. Vulnerable will get killed. There is no point in speculating what happened planned or unplanned people got killed , so people went for riots. Even in this article it is not used as a point to question the nature of the riots for defending Modi. I think we are interpreting things in different ways so this discussion is not going to end ,so let’s close it ourselves.

http://twitter.com/EasyDestination EasyDestination.Net

You are wasting your time debating with him. He intentionally likes to ignore the facts. It would be better that instead you spend little time reading the Nanavati Commission report. It covers all aspects including the possibility of accidental fire before coming to the conclusion that attack was pre planned.

In any accidental situation the floor of the train would not have burned in the manner it did. It clearly happened due to pouring of some inflammable liquid in large about inside the train.

http://twitter.com/ganpat73 munusamy ganapathy

Have you ever travelled in a train dear friend.there where more than 200 people in S6 coach and people where sitting all over the path,near the toilets and it was impossible for reserved passengers to enter(words of the witnesses in the commission)and you beleive that large quantities of inflammable material was placed inside the coach for it to get burnt.
Stone pelting from a distance was happening for several minutes before the coach got burnt and passengers closed the windows and shutters within minutes but still we beleive that inflammable material was placed inside the specific coach in a preplanned manner to burn the specific coach carrying devotees

http://twitter.com/EasyDestination EasyDestination.Net

In case you didn’t read the report properly, the inflammable liquid was not present in the coach earlier but was poured in much later. The report clearly says that container was pushed inside through one of the door as the FSL officer told the commission. The interconnecting door between S6 and S7 was forced opened, person climbed in the container/bottle of petrol and then inflammable liquid was thrown inside.

The FSL also said that looking at the damage made to the floor of the S6, it can only be caused if at least 60 liters of inflammable liquid was poured inside.

Jaykumar Jaganathan

You and your so called secular GOVT Took life of innocent for granted not only in this case of TN Train Burning incident which you cited even few years back same thing happened in AP Train as well..

Both the case sabotage was ruled out…..What else can secular holy cows can do?

http://twitter.com/ganpat73 munusamy ganapathy

So sweet of you for letting the cat out of the bag. A modi in helm would have converted these train accidents as planned massacre by a community to polarise the state on communal lines and created a favourable climate for hindutva parivars success but unfortunately there was no modi at helm to exploit it.
The planned exploitation of the dead bodies and news of godhra train burning for electoral gains and polarisation will remain unparalleled in the history of electoral politics for a long time to come

shiva_eswaran

ha ha.. so much for the “”no prejudice guy who read the report”.. Which cat came out now.. Do you think it is a movie script ? There are kinds of people who oppose Modi on this riots issue.. People who say Modi conspired right from the train burning to the riots.. There are other people who think Train burning was accident and Modi went on to kill people in the riots( which included Hindus) . My simple question is what if he is actually innocent. ( All the reports prove that, the same reports sent Kodnani to Jail)

http://twitter.com/ganpat73 munusamy ganapathy

Every accused is innocent until proved guilty beyond reasonable dhoubt and this applies to modi too if is he is blamed only for his active role in the riots.The main blame on him is his attempts to use the deaths due to planned or unplanned burning of S6 coach for communal polarisation and ignoring the riots to develop his political constituency.

shiva_eswaran

Dude the video is there in youtube. It is rinnging in your ears?? really. He never used any bigotry words. When he painted oters in different colours?. Using the train burning will happen only in communally polarized state it won’t happen in some saintly states. Train burning was carried out (planned or unplanned) by office bearers of congress , so can we interpret that congress is anti-Hindu? RIOTS happened because of train burning. Gaining political motive is a charge which you believe so you’ve to prove otherwise no point in shouting. I can also tell that you are a Pakistani bigot will it make you one?. If I claim something I should prove other wise better ******************************

ham paanch hamaara pachees now.. ok.. He replied to that question clearly before Why you people are thinking only Muslims do that?. My grand father had 10 children. He was not Muslim. Don’t you think it is about population control? Tell me a link where he states Muslims does that? If you interpret like that then you are clearly thinking that Muslims have ham paanch hamaara pachees problem. It is not he who referred it? Understand.

Lol you acted as open minded guy. You questioned the nature of accident.. You question the commission to set up. You are questioning his other speeches which was never pointed at any direction.
you referred Modi is like Dyer who ordered but could or couldn’t have participated in the Killing?

Now you want me to believe you still think you are clear thinker and open minded?

Sarcastic tone? ok that is the reason why you want Modi to be punished, which cannot be proved?

Train burning is a serious thing dude. As long as you don’t believe it , you won’t accept the riots.

Sorry you believe the train burning either happened by accident and modi used for political mileage or, it was just not pre planned burning Modi used it or it was a Modi planned burning and what else? 254 Hindus killed themselves and sacrificed for Modi? What else you’ve?

MOdi the BJP guy ordered the congress guys to burn the train and told the Media to go and riot against Muslims and also asked the congress member to kill Ehsaan Jafri . Ok Open minded friend. Carry on.

http://twitter.com/EasyDestination EasyDestination.Net

The hum paanch quote was not made in doordarshan speech but in a political rally before 2002 elections. It is also very doubtful whether this statement was made against muslims or people who opposed family planning. I still remember that BJP brought the idea of family planning to control population at that time and a lot of people opposed it.

As far as I remember, he never gave any interview to doordarshan but made a public appeal. Both are quite different. In the public appeal there isn’t any news reader. its same as message to nation by PM or President.

The link you are asking to read has so many inaccuracies that I can write a complete article. Besides please go through what SIT and amaicus curaie has to say about Sreekumar. These simply are allegations without any evidence to back.

Classic example is not calling army on time. The Gujarat CM called army on Feb 28, the day riots erupted and later at that night army reached Gujarat. In fact the any delay happened because army has to be airlifted from J&K otherwise it would have reached in much less time. Sreekumar is basically repeating the allegation that Modi didn’t call the army for 3 days to allow rioters to go on killing spree.

http://twitter.com/ganpat73 munusamy ganapathy

Sir the army being airlifted from srinagar makes me cry as you have scored a sixer and i dont get any words to replyback.wow its movie stuff.gujarat is a border state and has quiet a bit of army units including an infantry brigade

http://twitter.com/EasyDestination EasyDestination.Net

But wasn’t he talking about family planning. I think here we have different views on the issue. The speech started with, we need family planning for development and growth of Gujarat followed by hum paanch statement. In a later speech he talked about Uniform Civil Codes and need of family planning to control population explosion so clearly isn’t he talking about family planning here? But again, I believe our opinion on the quote is different. In your view he is targeting Muslims while I think his target is Congress because it was Congress who despite promising these things retracted following protests from Muslims.

Anyway coming to doordarshan, I think you are confused. Modi appeared on doordarshan on Feb 28 where he asked for calm and peace. His message was broadcast repeatedly Besides the message on doordarshan, he only appeared on Zee News.

As far as Ahmed Patel is concerned, he is the man given charge of Gujarat by Sonia Gandhi. It is well known fact, so it is quite obvious that Modi dragged him into the battle. You see Gujarat Congress leaders either praising or criticizing Ahmed Patel, when they decide to walk away. Now once again it is matter of opinion. In my view since Ahmed Patel has everything to do with Gujarat, it is obvious that Modi is calling him out. But again if you hear his speeches, he is more vicious towards Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi.

Why he does that is also well known. He want any big leader in Congress to abuse him. If they do that, it works in his favor. It even worked on Ahmed Patel who came out making statements against Modi. So this is political move. Modi is well known to provoke people. It has nothing to do with his atitude towards Muslims.

http://twitter.com/ganpat73 munusamy ganapathy

I have travelled/travel in train quiet often to understand the situation of how a few additions to the 72 creates commotion and it was not just 200 in S6 but more than 200 which may be 250 or above too as the number of reserved passengers who died out of the 59 was less than 5.
What does it indicate when the children,women,aged where the ones left behind to die when a group of above 200 was attacked/caught in a fire.
where is the space to get /throw petrol inside after several minutes of stone throwing and shutting of doors

evyavan

Ever heard about the ‘Law of exclamation’? When you are using more capitals than needed, then you are obviously lying or you are ignorant about what you are talking about.

http://twitter.com/ganpat73 munusamy ganapathy

Thanks for making me know about law of exclamation.I am just quoting for the nanavathi commision reports in bold

I am surprised that you failed to notice the top most comment by seshasayee which is in bold for educating us about law of exclamation.We have to design a new law for this selective identification

http://twitter.com/EasyDestination EasyDestination.Net

As you may perhaps noticed in the report that not all people came out from the left side of the train where mob was gathered. A lot of people used the other side to come out which is mentioned in the report. This is the way they managed to save themselves.

It should also be noted that as the report suggests that not all the people present at that time were part of the conspiracy. It has been mentioned in the report that it was planned by few people who later tried to give it look of large mob attacking the train by false statement that people inside have abducted a muslim girl.

They used the mob to get enough time to bring the petrol pour it inside the train to burn the people.

Even if the entire group had the intention of killing everyone, it would be almost impossible for them to cross the train to reach the other side immediately and kill the escaping people. My friend if there is 60 litres of petrol poured then obviously it is a conspiracy. It is impossible to arrange so much petrol in such little time.

Even in the preplanned massacres people do manage to escape. This is not an isolated incident. Naroda incident which has been termed as conspiracy by the court had 90+ people dead and over 900 managed to escape.

There is strong reason not to believe the story of the muslim girl. As mentioned in the report, she was in the middle of the station from where a karsevak tried to abduct her. But she screamed and he left.

Even in that case, it is surprising that police officials and even the railway officials who were present nearby didn’t hear or came to her aid. For sake of argument lets assume that because of Modi they decided not to help a muslim, but even in that case there were several muslim vendors on the station and none heard her scream or came to her aid.

http://twitter.com/ganpat73 munusamy ganapathy

110.
Govindsinh (W-46), an Army Subedar, was sitting on the berth over seat
No.3. He has stated that after the train had stopped again, there was pelting of
stones which had continued for about half an hour. Stones hitting the windows
had broken shutters thereof and some stones had started coming inside the coach.
In order to protect themselves ladies and children had taken shelter below the
seats. Some passengers were hit and injured by those stones. After some time he
got a scent of something burning .It was coming from the side of seat no. 72.
Thereafter he had seen smoke coming towards him. Then some flames were also
seen coming towards their side. He had, therefore, opened the door near his seat
and jumped out of the coach. He had got out of the coach from the right hand side
and was caught by some persons forming a small mob. He was also given a blow
on his head. Only after he was able to convince them that he was a man from the
army that he was allowed to go.

what a irony .

A planned mob wanting to burn people let of a person who jumped out of the coach which was attacked for the suspicion of carrying a muslim girl because he was a army man .people trampled upon their wives,grandchildren,children and jumped out during a fight and it becomes a preplanned killing.The irony is rightists who talk of reason in all other issues take the version of modi government as gospel of truth inspite of glaring discrepancies

Jaykumar Jaganathan

CRI

You where upright in writing that Mayaben Kodnanai got convicted but failed to write that judge Jyotsna Yagnik, once a junior lawyer of known Congress leader
Manubhai Palkhiwala . The Congress lawyer is also
acting principal of the IM Nanavati Law College in Ahmedabad which is
owned by a prominent Congress-connected family.

Suresh

what a superbly researched and written article! thanks a lot amit! stunning work!

Jaykumar Jaganathan

The facts in the judgement in Maya Kodnani’s case are so startling that it has all the trappings of the Islamist tactics mentioned above. It is on record that on Feb 28 morning Kodnani delivered a speech at the Vidhan Sabha. Then she left at 9.15 am for Sola Civil Hospital where the charred bodies of the Hindu victims of Godhra were brought the preceding night. Here she was booed by incensed relatives of the Hindu victims. They accused her of not protecting the Hindus as a BJP person. She actually had to flee the spot with police escort around 11.30 AM. The police escorted her till Subhash bridge and from there she went to Meghaninagar Civil Hospital and from there to her house in Naroda. The judge has not called two Mamlatdars ( Mamlat is an executive magistrate ) and the police inspector of Sola police station, a policemen who had seen Kodnani till 11.15 am , to give their testimony. Is this not intriguing?

The statements of the four witnesses regarding Kodnani have been taken on record by the court in another similar case of the same day, the Narodagam case in which too she is an accused. This is again unusual. Evidence supporting her has been considered by one judge in one case but ignored by another judge (Jyotsna Yagnik) in an identical case.

These facts support the charges made by BJP leaders like Yatin Oza, who had defended Mayaben once in the case, that she has been convicted on tutored evidence created by motivated activists. What’s more, the judge didn’t even see the CD containing record of Kodnani’s telephone calls on that day. This was one of the evidences considered by the Judge while convicting her.

The Narodapatiya convictions dated September 16. Reports indicate that the conspiracy angle which the trial court immensely relied on to award unheard of punishments to the convicts was essentially a figment of imagination of the prosecution. First of all on February 28, 2002, the first three killings were premeditated and the victims were all Hindus. The killings took place in the Narodapatiya locality. There was tension already after the Godhra train massacre. The targeted killings of the Hindus in the east Ahmedabad area infuriated and inflamed reactions in the Hindu areas. There was no conspiracy here. Linking Maya Kodnani seems to have come as an afterthought, as the riot industry was always looking for big names. The BJP MLA was popular in the area. Her 28 year conviction defies all logic. Unlike in the West the maximum punishment in India is either a life sentence or a hanging. This is what even Kasab got. Is Kodnani more a criminal than Kasab? India is not US where long years of convictions have given birth to a flourishing jail industry.

One central theme was trying to implicate maximum number of persons in the name of riots so that never again a Hindu will stand to protect his right and honor.

http://twitter.com/ganpat73 munusamy ganapathy

but to singularly target the chief minister for political ends is simply untenable in a democracy like ours

I feel the same for gen dyer who has been targetted even after 100 years and we want every visiting dignitary from UK to cry,apologise,regret,feel remorse for that incident.He didnt fire the thousands of bullets killing thousands and would not have fired even a single one except giving orders
The firers from gorkha regiment got awards,pension from the independent indian govt and employment for their children and grandchildren in indian army.
How sad that we target just gen dyer and the descendants of the rulers of UK 1919 for a massacre committed by hundreds of soldiers

Jaykumar Jaganathan

Why only Gurka regiment you forgot Mahar regiments loyalty to British it is the same community from which Ambedkar belonged his own father served Mahar regiment and his Grand Father as a school teacher….

The shining of 1992 and 2002 will keep Indian History glowing. Who is responsible and who is innocent is simply relative. Every act had its cosmic effect and it is sure to affect. Let us experience what is in store!

Jaykumar Jaganathan

Take note of one more glorious history from book of invaders…Which is still a shining Armour..

Letter written by
Tipu Sultan dated January 19, 1790, to Badroos Saman Khan: “Don’t you
know that I have achieved a great victory recently in Malabar and over 4 lakh Hindus were converted to Islam.
I am now determined to march against that ‘Cursed Raman Nair’ without
delay. (Reference is to Rama Varma Raja of Travancore State who was
popularly known as Dharma Raja for giving shelter in his state to all
those who fled Malabar.). Thinking
that he and his subjects would be soon converted to Islam, I am
overjoyed and hence abandoned the idea of returning to Srirangapatanam.”

In
2003 the sword of Tipu Sultan was bought by Vijay Mallya for a fortune .
The sword of Tipu Sultan carried an inscription in Persian:
“My victorious Sabre is lightening for the destruction of the
unbelievers. Thou art our Lord, make him victorious who promotes the
faith of Muhammad. Confound him, who refuses the faith of Muhammad and
withold us from those who are so inclined”.

I’d have added the Reign of Terror from 1975-1977 too. We don’t bring that up enough, but if that was not an affront to civilised society and the Constitution, then nothing is.

MODIfied facts

Hmm, I did not read anything except epilogue. I saw few words like riots and killings in the beginning so, moved directly to epilogue. I have read enough about communal riots in India. It happened in Gujrat and it can happen in any other state. When we are living in a country with multiple religions, incidents like these will happen. We have many Modis from other parties too, Likes of Jagdish Tytler and Kalyan Singh.

But, you must understand and accept the fact that he is a culprit. There is no evidence to prove his crime. But, as a king you must act and protect your ppl regardless of their religion. Not stopping the carnage is as good as promoting it. Lack of evidence is saving ppl like Modi and Jagdish.

I stay in Hyd. Communally sensitive city. With 50-50 population of major religions. We had many communal riots but as far as I know, never victims number exceeded more than 10 or max 20. All govts acted and brought the City under control. Godhra’s story is different. It started big(nearly 50 Hindus killed), and ended big. I tell you, if he had that will to stop it he could have done it easily. He played it to gain something from this incident.

Lankans still consider Ravana as a greatest ruler than lord Rama. Only one bad thing he did was: abducting Sita. This single act made him a bad boy. Lankans still worship Ravana thinking that abducting Sita is smaller and acceptable crime. Where as in India ppl hate him for the same reason. When someone says word ‘Ravana’ first thing comes to Indians mind is his crime of abducting Sita. Indians do not care about this credential as a greatest ruler of Lanka. He is a villain that’s it. As an Indian/Hindu, do you praise Ravana? He is the greatest ruler. He is the greatest devotee of lord Shiva. He got many good credentials on this name.

http://twitter.com/EasyDestination EasyDestination.Net

I am very well aware of the riots in Hyderabad. They are never spread throughout the city. On most occasion it remains within some area of the city. While in Gujarat, 5 districts were completely affected by the riots. You need to make some distinction.

The last time when major riots broke out was 91 when around 150-200 people died in Hyderabad. A lot depends on the magnitude of the violence. In some cases, it is quite difficult to control the riots.

http://twitter.com/ganpat73 munusamy ganapathy

There was a incident of hurling of petrol bombs over a vehicle of devotees of devar proceeding for devar gurupooja last year and most in the vehicle got burnt. the state govt used all its might to downplay the incident and shifted the patients to different hospitals and avoided giving the total figure of casualties as it wanted to prevent caste clashes while in case of godhra the govt without any enquiry came to the conclusion of rambhakts being burnt in a preplanned manner for their visit to ayodhya and where roasted alive inside locked doors for being rambhkats.

No where it was reported that 3/4 of the heavily overcrowded coach passengers escaped .The sangh parivar organisations where given free hand to use the incident to trigger communal violence and settle old scores.

One retired supreme court judge comes to the conclusion of accident and another as a planned attack and we stick to the one which suits out agenda and the tragedy is the govt led by modi did the same to suit its political interests

http://twitter.com/EasyDestination EasyDestination.Net

The Banarejee report that you are talking about has been deemed Illegal and contrary to facts by the Gujarat High Court. The Special Court hearing Godhra incident has declined it and even SIT which was also asked to look into train carnage hasn’t spoken in the favor. So you want to stick to that report, be my guest.

The Godhra incident was highlighted by the media. Even before Narendra Modi came to Godhra to make statement, channels like Aaj Tak had already said that a group of people burned down the train. Several other channels also made similar observations. For entire day channels were showing bodies being taken out and train in flames. How many people died and injured were already told by the media.

Generally in such cases nobody talks about how many escaped. Take example of Naroda Patiya where 90% people were saved but nobody talks about them. If you blame Modi for that then go ahead. Besides you seriously think that news of 140 people escaped would calm people down.

In case you didn’t read the report of Justice Nanavati, within 15 minutes of incident people there were saying a group of muslims have burned down the train. The very first official of railways who reached there, also said same thing and he was muslim. Railway officials, Police officials, firefighters and several victims had given statements before Narendra Modi came and give official statement.

The incident you are talking about is very minor in comparison to Godhra. I believe 3 died immediately while another 3 died later. Such incidents happen everyday in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Unless a incident is big or it gets media coverage, it isn’t likely to turn violent. I am lost of words if you seriously think that govt can downplay incident like Godhra.

May I know what political interests are you talking about here? At that time every single political expert said that BJP is finish in Gujarat. Exist Polls said something similar. Unless Narendra Modi had crystal ball I don’t know how he managed to find out something that no other could do.

http://twitter.com/ganpat73 munusamy ganapathy

If not for godhra and post godhra riots BJP would have lost power in gujarat.Effective handling or prevention of post godhra riots would have resulted in loss of power to modi and BJP in gujarat but would have helped it retain power in centre.

Advani was targetted in coimbatore with multiple bomb blasts resulting in death of several party workers and common people but the state govt prevented riots unlike gujarat where a tragic incident(which could have been preplanned or accidental as the last word is yet to be said on it even by the courts)was utilised to shore up the fading political fortunes of the party and the man at helm

http://twitter.com/EasyDestination EasyDestination.Net

So BJP is so stupid that between Gujarat and Center, it choose Gujarat? You are not making any sense. The situation of BJP was not good in 2001-2002 the very reason for which Modi was brought. But like I mentioned earlier that not a single political expert was convinced in 2002 that riots would help BJP.

It is very easy to make this conclusion now after 11 years that Modi won because of riots but at that time nobody thought of that.

Now you are comparing terror attack with communal act? Even in Gujarat there have been terror attacks after 2002 and there have been terror attacks in other parts of the country. Terror attacks don’t start communal riots.

You can hope that godhra incident some how become accident but chances are very little. Since Banerjee report didn’t had forensic backing and got rejected in high court and special court, there is little doubt. Besides even SIT agrees with Godhra verdict.

Babubhai Vaghela

(1) Did he do what he could do to stop genocide is first question remains unanswered. 92) Has justice been done to the affected remains the second question to be answered. (3) In the matter of committing crime against humanity, Narendra Modi and Manmohan Singh are no different. Only the style of committing crimes are different.

http://twitter.com/Voter77 SachinT

Thanks Amit to put this up. Another myth to be broken with proper articulation is of Juhapura ghetto. Can u put this up with comparison of Behrampada in Bandra or Mumbra in Thane with Juhapura. Very evident that ppl in Behrampada or Mumbra live in much more pathetic conditions.